Alex Comes Clean

If I had the power to ask A-Rod questions, I would use the ones that are directing the conversation at ESPN’s First Take or Cold Pizza or whatever it is.
First one up:
What NBA hairstyle has had the biggest impact on the league?

here we go. “put your cellphones on vibrate.” says pr man jason zillo. also, no follow up questions. Alex on a dais with girardi, in short sleeves and cashman. alex in a navy shirt, sleeves rolled up. in attendance: hank steinbrenner. also, don hooten, of the taylor hooten foundation. so looks like someone’s getting a check out of this. and now to alex.

I am following via numerous liveblogs. I think I have a better grasp of the truth than if I were listening to Alex!
Mix two parts SoSH, one part YFSF, one part Neyer, and one part NY Times. You can’t go wrong!

SF: if many people are taking supplements/PED’s/whatever you want to call them, you probably wouldn’t think it was cheating. There is no doubt he/baseball players overall know how prevalent this was all over baseball?

John Harper asks “Did you think you were using steroids?”
He says no, basically, which is not going to go over well.
“Hey, you with that needle and the random clear liquid, come shoot it in my buttcheeks!”.
Yep, that’s believable.

I understand that, Krueg. But what is he apologizing for, then? In other words, I don’t care about the apology. I am more interested in the truth. I don’t think Alex needs to apologize. Honestly, I don’t.

A Rod must have paid a good price to his cousin to drop this on him….unless it’s all true.

waleinFebruary 17, 2009, 2:12 pm

“I knew we weren’t taking tic tacs…”
This is going to be the most famous answer from the press conference. Fans are going to throw tic tacs at him this season. Basically, he’s caught in a lie and his answer sucks.

blames cousin. says he didn’t know what he was taking. not sure they were really even his.
Seriously, what’s the difference between Alex’s story and the random dude trying to explaing the enormous bag of blow in the armrest from any given episode of “Cops”?

I got the answer. He’s basically saying that he was “stronger” when he wasn’t doing the drugs. Long story short: Childhood Poverty is the greatest PED of all (cue old record of Whitney Houston).

waleinFebruary 17, 2009, 2:22 pm

I actually feel sorry for ARod. Call me a bleeding heart but this guy has gone through so much shit since he has come to the Yankees. Yes, much of it is self-inflicted, expecially the fact that he took PED’s.
I am off the ripping-on-ARod bandwagon.

That was a great twist on the old aphorisms. I want Jellyneck to come out and answer the rest of the questions.

waleinFebruary 17, 2009, 2:25 pm

shit, the streaming just went haywire, so I’m left to imagine the answer:
“It was a sultry night. I was lying on a towel in my living room. “I am the Fire Starter” blared from the speakers. My cousin asked if I was ready…”

krueg, are you saying that the amount of media attention paid to PED use is a little out of hand. Well, I disagree! These players are role models for our children.
Meanwhile, a reporter at Padres camp asks Brian Giles a second ago
“So, what part of your game are you looking to improve in 2009?”

Meanwhile, Brett Myers was just asked how his shoulder feels and he answered by punching the female reporter in the face. The rest of the press-core just laughed and said that’s Brett being Brett. Did you know his dad was a boxer???? OMG LOL

waleinFebruary 17, 2009, 2:33 pm

Here is the difference.
Arod gets a solid booing every time he comes to the plate at Fenway, but as soon as he cracks one out, the place goes silent.
Opposing fans, right or wrong, are going to assume he’s still on the juice, making everything he does on the field a booable offense.
I assume he’s still using something, he has the money to get drugs they can’t test for and masking agents to make sure they never can.

I really thought that Alex did the best job he could given the situation he put himself in. He seemed reasonably forthcoming compared to the many others who have been implicated and he also seemed not to try to redirect blame too much. Its gonna have to be good enough for now. Id love to see a monster year from him.

And the whole thing ends with ZIllo asking the reporters not to “trample each other,” which is about the perfect unintended metaphor for the whole situation.
My vote: Basically he seemed pretty honest. And the last part at the end about just wanting to get to baseball after a shitty year, well, i think we can all relate to that, especially with the dow down another 250 points.
PLAY BALL!!!

Yawn. This feels like Max Headroom. Amazing at the time but twenty years later you can’t remember what the fuss was about.
Now I’m waiting for the other 103 names if reporters have the nuts to ask the questions. For instance, Abraham talks big on his blog but is a coward even in a press conference.
Seems like Pudge’s name is on that list.http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3911550&name=Neyer_Rob

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 2:38 pm

Nick: I think that was scarcasm? Screw kids. Parents should be their only role models. Overprotective parents are the WORST! I rode a bike for years with no helmet and lived! ;)
Lock: He gets booed EVERYWHERE…not going to matter. The fact that you think he is still on something because he has money? They all have money. Be careful, glass houses and all that. Papi got a lot better when he went to Boston, no? A little bigger too? (for the record, i really don’t care who took what)

I assume he’s still using something, he has the money to get drugs they can’t test for and masking agents to make sure they never can.
Blood and urine tests are saved. What can’t be shown today can be always be shown tomorrow. Ask Armstrong.

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 2:40 pm

> Yawn. This feels like Max Headroom.
It’s better than being forced to watch The fucking Bachelor, as I had to last night.

“Win a world series and all this goes away…”
Anyone else, yeah, probably.
A-Rod, no.
Yankee fans love to hate him as much as everyone not a Patriots fan loves to hate the Patriots.
Make that MOST Yankee fans.

Why when this topic is raised do so many Yankee fans throw Ortiz out? I will pass the same judgment on Ortiz when he’s proven to have used. Not one second before that and neither should anyone else.
Krueg, I don’t think you’re understanding the difference between how fans have treated him in the past and they will now treat him. It is going to be SO much worse, every at bat, every game, for the rest of his playing days. I don’t know if he has the thick skin to take it.

It’s better than being forced to watch The fucking Bachelor, as I had to last night.
I love my wife even more right now. Watched UCONN-Pitt with me.

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 2:47 pm

Bottom line…many people hate ARod. Always have, always will. It wouldn’t matter if he saved a baby from a burning building, they would still hate him.
He made a mistake and apologized for it. Now, as Yankee fans (screw the rest of ya!) it’s time to support this guy! We all know he has a soft, nougaty center that needs a little positive energy! Like it or not, he’s in pinstripes for the rest of our lives for the most part! (that means you SF…ya codger!)
(all in jest people…because I love you guys)

It is going to be SO much worse, every at bat, every game, for the rest of his playing days. I don’t know if he has the thick skin to take it.
I disagree. I think most fans are smarter than what the mediots tell them to believe. There will be a mix of feelings, but for the first time the guy is human. And if those 103 names come out, as they should, no fan will be spared. We will all have rooted, at one time or another, for a “cheater”.

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 2:51 pm

sam, people will wonder why he didn’t prevent the fire from happening in the first place.

AndrewYFFebruary 17, 2009, 2:52 pm

> If this happened people would ask why he didnt put the fire out too…
But his cousin gave him the gift of fire. Except he called it “HOT, HOT.. DON’T TOUCH. owwie.”

I basically agree that A-Rod couldn’t have said anything that really would quiet the storm that will follow, but if I don’t think he did such a good job today, and this goes beyond some of the legal issues that loomed over some of these answers (the cousin one for instance). Basically, he needed to, at the very least, say he cheated and he didn’t. He might not have believed that he cheated, but he needed to say that. He also needed to say that this drug gave him an advantage, and he didn’t.
Meanwhile, Brian Giles calmly enjoys a gatorade and a game of catch with his teammates.

> And if those 103 names come out, as they should
Maybe they should, maybe not. At this point, I guess it depends on how it gets presented. Do you really care if they actually get released? I don’t. And I don’t care that there is a sideshow being created for our pleasure/their revenue dollars, except it’s a fun diversion. Just like the fact the game is only a diversion.

I’m certain it’s going to be MUCH worse, luckily the season starts soon so we will find out.
Can you name one team that you think was clean? I’m not sure I can. Just by the names we already know, a whole bunch are out. You really think you could boo if it comes out that Nomar was guilty?
Any fan that boos at this point because of PEDs is just waiting for the other shoe to drop of their favored team.

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 3:01 pm

Lock: I’m not saying Papi did anything, I’m just saying that ANYONE could be having this press conference today…
I totally get what you guys are saying. He will be booed unmerficully…until he crushes a game winning homer. I don’t think the road fans reactions will be nearly as crippling as you guys think. He is used to it. Now if he gets it at home as well, then maybe.

> Now if he gets it at home as well, then maybe.
No chance in hell. The guy very publicly fell on a sword. People understand that. Scattered boos, yes. But they’ll be fleeting. I expect he’s won over fans he never had and he hasn’t lost any already on his side. Net gain.

“You really think you could boo if it comes out that Nomar was guilty?”
Most of us are pretty sure now that Nomar is guilty. We all saw the SI cover, also known as Exhibit I.
To be fair, though, we need to ask: Are we SFs willing to condemn Nomie because we really think he did PEDs or because he whined his way out of town and it therefore is convenient?
Good question. I can’t answer it right now.

> I’m talking about what’s going to happen in the real world.
Yeah, in the real world where humans try to maintain some consistent principles. Booing a steroids guy is very old at this point in baseball history. I was catcalling Canseco as a steroids user when I was a kid. That was over twenty years ago.
> The Washington Generals.
Excellent, but how did they manage to win those two games?

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 3:10 pm

For your sake, I hope you’re right. The fan masses can be insane though, if he has a little slump and Ks a few times with runners in scoring position at key moments, it could change quickly.

> Most of us are pretty sure now that Nomar is guilty. We all saw the SI cover, also known as Exhibit I.
Okay. How about one player from 2004? Say Varitek? Or Dave Roberts?
You booing A-Rod then for anything other than him being a Yankee?

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 3:15 pm

“Pittsburgh Pirates? Might explain why they have sucked for so long…”
You have to make contact with the ball for the steroids to help, so they are still suspect.

This season is going to be defining for him for sure. I’m just glad we have such a strong team around him. This has to be the best Yankee team on paper that ARod has been a part of? They rally around him like they seem to be doing and we could be all good. In fact, I expect it!

I don’t think so, Arod is Arod. So many people want to hate him and the haters, the majority of opposing baseball fans, just got the best piece of ammunition possible.
Other players simply aren’t hated as much, being on that list won’t damage them the same way.

> Absolutely. I think every team should have the joy of a day like today.
I thought it was a *yawn*.
Wait, you’re right. It is a yawn. People going or not going to the game will not care about this going forward, not anymore. This has little to do with the Yankees except it was the highest paid player in the game that stepped up to the mic for a farcical confession. The Yankees and every other team now can relax, because the fans will attend or not attend games for reasons other than PED use. It is finished as an issue other than a point for articles by writers and television producers. ARod’s spectacle of a news conference today saw to that. Everyone who would follow by way of outing or confession was done the greatest favor by him, because from here on, it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s just a happenstance distraction, and whether labeled acceptance, hypocrisy or laziness, I’m certain that people are going to spend their money and time on baseball with today’s de-boning relegating future “expositions” to sidebar material. I “Look Forward” in a literal sense to all the articles trying to rectify changes in revenue with “the impact of the steroid era” vs. “the impact of the recession.” and quit.

“Okay. How about one player from 2004? Say Varitek? Or Dave Roberts?”
Maybe I’m a SF all alone on this one, but no one is a saint, even if they were a member of the best team of my rooting life. So I don’t really get why broaching this very distinct possibility is supposedly so horrific. The odds are really pretty good that one of “the 25″ is also one of “the 104.” This bothers me, but not because all my purest hopes and dreams have been dashed.

Texeira is going to be a beast. We don’t need Manny..we have pitching now, remember? I just want the season to start already! All ARod can do what he does best…play baseball.
sidenote: This site is the best because of the civil discourse between our respective fanbases. I cannot even imagine what’s going on out there in idiot world…

> So I don’t really get why broaching this very distinct possibility is supposedly so horrific.
My point was only that such a fact would make any SF pause before booing A-Rod for any reason other than his current uniform. Margo Adams, of course, didn’t prevent fans from wearing blond wigs. But this somehow seems different.
> Everyone who would follow by way of outing or confession was done the greatest favor by him, because from here on, it doesn’t matter anymore.
I agree. A-Rod has taken the brunt of the scorn and each player after him will get it easier. I even think McGwire will get a huge sympathy vote before his 15 years are up.
Still, that doesn’t prevent me from wishing every team could experience the spotlight for a day each.
> Nobody on that team is as universally hated as Arod, not even Schilling.
Speak for yourself. And in the history of the game, A-Rod, and Schilling, will be judged accordingly. Of course, given the Sox PR office, Schilling will somehow find a way into Cooperstown
> If he gets cheater chants, Aroid, who’s your dealer, etc.. At every at bat, every away game, for the rest of his playing days.
So they play in Oakland or Pacbell and those fans start in with that nonsense? Or Texas after Pudge is outed? Baltimore and Palmeiro and Tejada?

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 3:39 pm

test
I cannot see additional comments for some reason? i click on the “show more comments” and nothing happens. I have to post something everyone in awhile to be able to see subsequent post. not cool.

That was a joke about the Sox PR office but with a bit of angry spite thrown in because I’m annoyed by the witch hunt led by moral crusaders aka sportswriters.
Boycott Kellogg’s!

RobFebruary 17, 2009, 3:41 pm

1. When admitting steroid use, please don’t use the phrase “I’m going to sit here and take my medicine.”
2. If you need to buy your steroids in the Dominican Republic, they are not “over the counter” steroids.
3. Tic-Tac endorsement pending.

I’m listening to 1050 in NYC and people are SO PISSED…it’s weird.
But then I think about how much baseball means to people. Baseball is admittedly my third favorite sport behind football and hockey. Actually, I don’t really like baseball, just the Yankees so I really don’t care about PED’s very much. But for those of you that are huge baseball fans, which is most of you guys on here, I guess I understand the anger.

I have a feeling people don’t boo A-Rod because of his uniform alone. I have a feeling they won’t boo him because of the steroids alone. I have a feeling they don’t boo A-Rod because he does things Little Leaguers aren’t supposed to do, alone. I have a feeling they don’t boo him because he cheated on his wife with Madonna, alone. I have a feeling they don’t boo him because he left his first ballclub to play for a ridiculous contract in what, in retrospect, looked like a dead-end opportunity to win, alone. I have a feeling they don’t boo him because, despite playing for the team they love, they only remember the times he f*cked up in the clutch, alone. I have a feeling they don’t boo him because he’s an amazing ballplayer, perhaps the best ever, who seems almost irrationally insecure.
I have a feeling people boo him for all of these things, in different proportions.
Me, I don’t boo him. I love watching him play. But I don’t like him, at all. The former is what really matters. The latter doesn’t, since I am not a Yankees fan. I like my players likeable, in a vacuum. We don’t live in a vacuum, of course.

“But for those of you that are huge baseball fans, which is most of you guys on here, I guess I understand the anger.”
I don’t know anyone personally who likes Baseball more than I do, but anger isn’t what I’m feeling here. Acceptance and morbid fascination is more like it. I’m not even sure at who or what I ought to be angry.

I think fans will boo ARod MUCH harder than before. It’s easy to justify… “well OUR player who got caught wasn’t the best player in baseball!” It’s hypocritical, but since when are baseball fans logical 100% of the time? You’re talking about a player that gets booed in his home stadium, despite being the best player in the game.
Why does Bonds get so much universal hate compared to other suspected steroid users? Because he’s the one breaking all the records. ARod, similarly, is going to get more hate because he’s the best player in the game. This seems pretty obvious to me.
As for the “the 25″ being on the list… I suspect Varitek, Trot and Damon. I’d be sad to hear Papi or Manny are on the list. I’d be devastated to hear it was Pedro.

AtheoseFebruary 17, 2009, 9:02 pm

people will boo arod for this particular character flaw until they get bored with the whole thing, and they will…like sf says, there is a buffet of other reasons for booing the guy…it’s become the sport within the sport…with any luck he’ll learn to ignore it…eventually, as other names leak [someone’s probably working on that right now] more fans will realize that they had heroes who were flawed, boredom with the topic will set in, and perhaps they’ll let up a bit, or not, because he’s arod…back to the buffet